Description
The Grand Harbour Breakwater is a pictorial record of a prominent legacy of the British Empire. Salient landmarks preceded it: Orsi Tower, San Petronio Battery and Gallows Point, where executed pirates dangled in iron cages. Thousands of concrete blocks morphed into a solid mass to tame the Gregale and repulse torpedoes exemplified global Edwardian civil engineering prowess. Built by Everyman: a multinational workforce, divers, bellmen, lives maimed and lost in the shadow of Pearson, royalty, admirals, politicians, and civil engineers. The breakwater is history witnessed: war and peace, emotions on a unique promenade; the spectacular Royal Navy. Unforgotten Ħondoq ir-Rummien and Għar Dorf, lessons in rehabilitation from Mistra Bay. The breakwater in the psyche of the citizens of Valletta: their pre-war playground; summer huts over a forgotten battery; Il-Boom Defence; Taħt iż-żiemel; Ta I-Ingliża, watching the Gregale vent its fury on Ricasoli breakwater. The new steaming course – skills test for captains, maritime pilots and tugmen. Contemporary challenges: a tale of two bridges; ongoing care and maintenance of this microcosm of Maltese industrial heritage.
